Medellin Reports

"There are plenty of ATMs in the newer front part and almost all of the local banks are represented. "

So, it's not a good idea to bring cash from the US hoping to make a simple exchange at a kiosk someplace? They don't exist here like in some places? Just work with the ATM's? Sometimes that can be a pain, what with international transaction charges, commissions, scratch-my-ass add-on fees and on and on; and adds up when you're having to visit these place everyday or two. Is there a certain ATM or Logo to look for that partners up with say Bank of America and is maybe a better deal than some of the others, or are they all about the same?

[QUOTE=Thebloke1;2060778]"There are plenty of ATMs in the newer front part and almost all of the local banks are represented. "

So, it's not a good idea to bring cash from the US hoping to make a simple exchange at a kiosk someplace? They don't exist here like in some places? Just work with the ATM's? Sometimes that can be a pain, what with international transaction charges, commissions, scratch-my-ass add-on fees and on and on; and adds up when you're having to visit these place everyday or two. Is there a certain ATM or Logo to look for that partners up with say Bank of America and is maybe a better deal than some of the others, or are they all about the same?[/QUOTE]The exchange places tend to be a bad deal.

I order some peso's from Bank of America delivered before I go and use Banco Colombia ATM's while down there. They do seem to have a 600,000 p limit.

[QUOTE=Thebloke1;2060778]So, it's not a good idea to bring cash from the US hoping to make a simple exchange at a kiosk someplace? They don't exist here like in some places? Just work with the ATM's? Sometimes that can be a pain, what with international transaction charges, commissions, scratch-my-ass add-on fees and on and on; [/QUOTE]You seem to have not a long travel experience and not in many countries out of US. The situation is exactly the opposite as you depict. Wherever you go in the world, ATMs will be the simplest and cheapest way to get local currency, provided that you use a debit card (not the credit function). Exchange fees for Maestro are the same in all the world and are usually much lower than those provided by kiosks. The local fee can vary from zero to 3 dollars (it's up to you to check if you want to save that additional dollars). The fixed fee for withdrawing from an ATM which is not from your bank can vary from 0 to 3 dollars (check with your bank rules). Withdraw the maximum amount each time, and you will be saving money (and time) compared to what you'd get from a kiosk.

This topic come back again and again.

[QUOTE=Thebloke1;2060778]"There are plenty of ATMs in the newer front part and almost all of the local banks are represented. "

So, it's not a good idea to bring cash from the US hoping to make a simple exchange at a kiosk someplace? They don't exist here like in some places? Just work with the ATM's? Sometimes that can be a pain, what with international transaction charges, commissions, scratch-my-ass add-on fees and on and on; and adds up when you're having to visit these place everyday or two. Is there a certain ATM or Logo to look for that partners up with say Bank of America and is maybe a better deal than some of the others, or are they all about the same?[/QUOTE]You can bring a large amount of cash from home. Most malls have at least one place to exchange for pesos, or you can go to Western Union. Each one will charge you a fee with a lower than current exchange rate. How much lower varies from place to place.

The downside is that you're carrying a large amount of cash and keeping a large amount of cash in your room. Room safes can he bypassed.

ATMs are everywhere. Wherever you stay there will be several ATMs within walking distance. Depending on your bank there may be a variety of charges like currency conversion fee and foreign ATM fees. Some bank ATMs also charge a service fee. Ask your bank about their fees.

My bank allows withdrawals of up to $800 per day. I use Davivienda ATMs and make up to 3 withdrawals of 720,000 pesos, their max per transaction. That's 2,160,000 pesos. For entertainment and food I rarely spend over 200,000 per day. Even if you're spending 500,000 per day, that's 1 trip to the ATM every 4 days.

I haven't checked every bank, but I know Servibanca has a 12,000 cop transaction fee.

I agree 100% with everything Black Page said. There is no logical reason for how often this subject comes up but it continues to come up. Maybe it will be helpful if guys think of the ATM fees as insurance premiums against getting jacked for or losing a big pile of cash. Think about it, given the choice of paying $20 to $30 in fees over several weeks or risking the loss of all the money you plan to spend during that time, why risk ruining your trip to save the fees and the mental energy of deciding which ATM to use? I just don't understand the confusion.

[QUOTE=BlackPage;2060892]You seem to have not a long travel experience and not in many countries out of US. The situation is exactly the opposite as you depict. Wherever you go in the world, ATMs will be the simplest and cheapest way to get local currency, provided that you use a debit card (not the credit function). Exchange fees for Maestro are the same in all the world and are usually much lower than those provided by kiosks. The local fee can vary from zero to 3 dollars (it's up to you to check if you want to save that additional dollars). The fixed fee for withdrawing from an ATM which is not from your bank can vary from 0 to 3 dollars (check with your bank rules). Withdraw the maximum amount each time, and you will be saving money (and time) compared to what you'd get from a kiosk.

This topic come back again and again.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=BlackPage;2060892]You seem to have not a long travel experience and not in many countries out of US. The situation is exactly the opposite as you depict. Wherever you go in the world, ATMs will be the simplest and cheapest way to get local currency, provided that you use a debit card (not the credit function).[/QUOTE]Not correct. In Thailand and Philippines for two, it is better to exchange money than to use the ATM. Money exchange places are 3 on every corner. The Thai bank charges you $6 on their end alone, while most money exchange places give you about the same as the interbank exchange. In Philippines sometimes using the exchange will give you even more than the interbank exchange. In Peru as well it is better to use the money changers on the street.

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;2060977]Not correct. In Thailand and Philippines for two, it is better to exchange money than to use the ATM. Money exchange places are 3 on every corner. The Thai bank charges you $6 on their end alone, while most money exchange places give you about the same as the interbank exchange. In Philippines sometimes using the exchange will give you even more than the interbank exchange. In Peru as well it is better to use the money changers on the street.[/QUOTE]I always have both ATM cards and cash whenever I travel as sometimes the exchange rate for US dollars can be higher than the bank rate but I have found that to be true only in Thailand which I don't understand why but it is. As far as Colombia don't even think of exchanging dollars at a a casa de cambio you will easily get almost a 10 percent lower rate than using an ATM machine. Also Citibank offers a lower rate than Bancolombia as I have experienced so I avoid them. As far as money changers on the street well best to avoid them as invariably one of them will screw you over.

Or make it simple and get a Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking account. You never have to go into a Schwab branch. You open it online and transfer funds electronically from another bank. There are no transfer fes and the best part is that you can withdraw money from an ATM anywhere in the world for free. No ATM fees at all. Yes, you will be charged ATM fees at the time of withdrawal. But on the first of each month, your account statement comes out and they refund all ATM fees. On February 1, I received a rebate of $22 after my January trip.

THIS ACCOUNT IS A NO-BRAINER!

Link to open an account: [URL]http://content.schwab.com/web/retail/public/get-started/checking/[/URL].

For some reason, it doeasn't work at BancoColombia in Medellin for me. That's not a big deal because BancoColombia has the longest lines and the lowest daily withdrawal limit (600,000 which is only $200). I have used Citibank, Banco de Bogota, and Davidenda (sp) with no issues.

FYI- Another myth guys repeat is that some ATM's give better rates. Not true. Every ATM gives the exact same rate at any given times (not counting fees they tack on). This is because the bank that gives you the money does not calculate the exchange rate. YOUR bank does that. The foreign bank gives you pesos and YOUR bank decides how much that is worth in dollars.

Schwab is very popular on the monger boards. It works as described. There are many similar deals at other banks. No ATM fees worldwide. Some banks require a minimum balance in the $500 to $1000 range. I have a credit union account with no minimum balance requirement and no ATM fees worldwide. I would never consider traveling with a pile of cash but guys should do whatever feels comfortable.

[QUOTE=Queens35;2061033]Or make it simple and get a Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking account. You never have to go into a Schwab branch. You open it online and transfer funds electronically from another bank. There are no transfer fes and the best part is that you can withdraw money from an ATM anywhere in the world for free. No ATM fees at all. Yes, you will be charged ATM fees at the time of withdrawal. But on the first of each month, your account statement comes out and they refund all ATM fees. On February 1, I received a rebate of $22 after my January trip.

THIS ACCOUNT IS A NO-BRAINER!

Link to open an account: [URL]http://content.schwab.com/web/retail/public/get-started/checking/[/URL].

For some reason, it doeasn't work at BancoColombia in Medellin for me. That's not a big deal because BancoColombia has the longest lines and the lowest daily withdrawal limit (600,000 which is only $200). I have used Citibank, Banco de Bogota, and Davidenda (sp) with no issues.

FYI- Another myth guys repeat is that some ATM's give better rates. Not true. Every ATM gives the exact same rate at any given times (not counting fees they tack on). This is because the bank that gives you the money does not calculate the exchange rate. YOUR bank does that. The foreign bank gives you pesos and YOUR bank decides how much that is worth in dollars.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Queens35;2061033]FYI- Another myth guys repeat is that some ATM's give better rates. Not true. Every ATM gives the exact same rate at any given times (not counting fees they tack on). This is because the bank that gives you the money does not calculate the exchange rate. YOUR bank does that. The foreign bank gives you pesos and YOUR bank decides how much that is worth in dollars.[/QUOTE]That is not correct. I just returned from Medellin earlier this week. I withdrew money from Bancolombia, Davivienda, and BBVA. The rate at the ATM stays the same throughout the day and is tied to the previous day's exchange rate. I know this because I withdrew more than once on some days. The rates did not change Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. On the same day, I withdrew from BBVA and from Bancolombia. BBVA gave a better rate. Davivienda gave a rate between BBVA and Bancolombia. None of those three banks charge a fee. I withdrew from Davivienda between withdrawals at Bancolombia. Since it was a weekend, the rates at Bancolombia were the same, and the rate at Davivienda was a little higher. Among the three banks, the difference was less than three pesos on the dollar. I used the Schwab card for all withdrawals.

3 pesos? That's 1/10th of of a penny. That qualifies under "exactly the same rate".

[QUOTE=Queens35;2061051]3 pesos? That's 1/10th of of a penny. That qualifies under "exactly the same rate".[/QUOTE]On the same day I withdrew from Servibanca, Davivienda and Citibank. Davivienda rate was the best, Citibank was the worst. Servibanca was in the middle but also had a 12 k service fee. The rate at Citibank was over 100 pesos less per dollar.

[QUOTE=JjBee62;2061055]The rate at Citibank was over 100 pesos less per dollar.[/QUOTE]Sorry but I don't believe you.

[QUOTE=Queens35;2061060]Sorry but I don't believe you.[/QUOTE]I'll pass that along to my bank and I'm sure they'll adjust the charges.

However, my numbers were wrong. I was looking at 2 different dates and I didn't have a Servibanca withdrawal on the day I used a Citibank ATM. On that day I used the Davivienda ATM at Jumbo Las Vegas and the Citibank ATM at CC Oviedo.

Daviv - 720,000 cop for $258.64 rate 2783.79 cop / usd.

Citi - 600,000 cop for $219.68 rate 2731.24 cop / USD.

Difference 52 cop / USD or 26,000 cop per $500 USD.

Not enough of a difference to lose sleep over, but the rate is not the same at every ATM. The larger factor is the current rate. I've had a range of $25 difference between identical withdrawals, depending on that days rate.

First off on that ATM discussion. Get the Schwab account they refund transaction fees all over the world. It does take 4 business days to transfer funds so plan accordingly. Especially when ATM's cap you at 600 k and you need to make multiple transactions a week those fee rebates are nice. It adds up.

Gusto - 4 for 4 pulling girls out of there. Cover is 15 K. The bouncer never hands me change he just puts it on his stand and I have to ask to take it which is douche move on both parts but whatever that's the game. Strategy is go in after 12, buy some girls you like an overpriced drink (she might have 3 in front of her and on her phone, but if she's not with a guy that means those were rejects and she will talk to you). Check your bill, I always call the liquors and the bartenders tend to put the most expensive one on the bill even if they pour in front of you. They fix it immediately. Again feels like a douche to correct them and douche for them to pull that shit. Then make small talk with the girl (in Spanish) and she will quote you a price pretty quick. The girls are not 100% for sale. I've seen them reject my wingmen before even when price wasn't an issue because she didn't like him.

Next point. The girls are often in packs. At minimum 2. If they reject your wingman the other girl is probably open to 3 way just need to give her some attention. 3/4 of the times I've pulled girls out of there its been me with 2 girls at their suggestion (1/4 was with my wingman, we took the 2 home and paired up there). The 3 way is not like the Pornhub movies. They switch condoms each blowjob and intercourse one set switched like every 4 minutes trying to run me out of condoms, but I was well stocked. The other girl moans and sits next to her friend while you fuck her. Switching condoms every few minutes can be a boner killer cause you wonder why she won't share a condom with her friend. Then hearing 2 girls moan "Papa leche" together is one of the most comical situations I've ever been. The girls don't like when you laugh at them while fucking. Three sets started at 500 k each and 2 sets settled on 300 k each, 1 set on 250 k each. Overall I would steer clear of 3-ways. The girls are in a rush and tag teaming you. One set high fived once I came then got dressed and left ASAP. Every time it was one hotter girl with her less hot friend that I ended up fucking because it was a 3 way opportunity. One girl whatsapp'd me the next day and apologized for making me fuck her friend. Literally laughed out loud for like 2 minutes when I got that message. A girl apologizing for "forcing" me into a 3 way. I love Medellin! Overall I'm going to avoid the 3 way offer its not gunna be what I think it will be and really is just a double the price but not double the pleasure. No regrets, but not gunna fall for that trap again.

Maybe you will have a different experience. Cheers!